


Lando's Speech

by VengeanceGOD



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Other, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:02:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28197339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VengeanceGOD/pseuds/VengeanceGOD
Summary: The Resistance is battling a last, desperate battle at Exegol. Their only hope is on the shoulders of an old smuggler, and one last message he has to give to the galaxy.
Kudos: 1





	Lando's Speech

# Lando's Speech

## by Mike Fatum

Lando Calrissian stands in the main cabin of the Millennium Falcon, in a makeshift holoprojector. He's wearing one of his flashiest outfits, cape and all. It's a little ill-fitting, but it's right. Chewbacca sits at the communications panel, tuning a frequency dial like an old ham radio. 

Lando tugs, absentmindedly, on his cape, like a kid dressed up for church. He doesn't look like a Rebellion hero. He looks like an old man in a cape.

  
LANDO  
Are we on?  


Chewbacca grunts, and waves a hand at him. Lando nods, and straightens himself up.

  
LANDO   
People of the galaxy. I apologize for the interruption. I am Lando Calrissian. You...may have heard of me.  


He gives the holoprojector his most winning smile. Chewie rolls his eyes.

  
LANDO  
You've been hearing a voice on your comm devices for a bit now. A voice of a man we all thought was dead. And it's been pretty scary, I know. These last few years have all been scary. Ever since Hosnian Prime, it seems like all you hear about is fear. I know a little something about that. After the war, like many of you, I settled down. I said I'd played my part, I'd earned my retirement. The First Order, well, fighting that was a young man's game. At first, I said they were far away. Then I said they'd never be the kind of problem the Empire was. And like many of you, I kept on saying it was someone else's problem, until it was suddenly everybody's problem. Even when the Resistance was begging us for help at Crait, we said, "someone else will do it." I'm just an old smuggler, what could I do? And now, here we are. Han, Luke, Leia, they're all gone. It's just me left.  


Lando has shrunk over the course of this speech. He looks at Chewbacca, who looks concerned, but is trying to hide it and be encouraging.

  
LANDO  
It's just...us, left. Because there's always more of us, isn't there? The Empire thought they'd trampled every last spark of hope in the galaxy, but we lit a fire so big we burned the whole thing down. Now they've put on a different uniform to try it again, and we almost let them do it. We almost let big, bad Palpatine say he was back and he had a couple of ships, and that was enough to smother that fire for good. It's almost out already. Right now, the Resistance is fighting a desperate battle to keep Palpatine and his cronies from coming out of retirement and standing on our necks again.   


He looks over at Chewie. Chewie slowly shakes his head.

  
LANDO  
They're losing. And if they go, if that spark goes out, they'll be no lighting that fire again. This Final Order will smother the galaxy. So I had to ask myself the same question we've all been asking for years. Am I going to sit back, enjoy my retirement, and sip a cocktail while the lights go out? Or am I going to step out of the shadow of my own fear and do something about it? Make no mistake, The Final Order, Palpatine, they scare the hell out of me. But if I fight, and it keeps one ember burning, one last, lousy ember, it will all have been worth it.  


He straightens himself up. The old man is gone. General Lando Calrissian, hero of the Rebellion, is speaking now.

  
LANDO  
I'm tired of being scared. I'm tired of one jack booted thug after another thinking he can put on a fancy uniform and tell me what to do. So I'm taking the Millennium Falcon, and Chewbacca and I are gonna go give the former Emperor a black eye he'll never forget. Right now, your comm device is receiving coordinates. That's where we are. Join us, and we'll take you right to the fight. Give your grandkids a story to tell, about the time a washed up old necromancer told us he owned us, and we showed him that this galaxy still stands for the freedom your mothers fought for. Don't let the spark die.   


He looks into the camera, this time totally vulnerable.

  
LANDO  
Help us. You're our only hope.  


A moment passes. Chewie switches off the transmission, and the two old friends sit in silence. Another moment. Lando slowly walks over to the Dejarik table and sits, once again an old man. More, long silence. Chewie whimpers sadly.

  
LANDO  
Nothing?  


Chewie hangs his head - and then a light blinks on on the comm panel. The wookiee presses it. Lando looks up, and a familiar voice speaks.

  
WEDGE  
Lando. Hang on. We're coming.  


**Author's Note:**

> Woke up in the middle of the night a year ago, after watching TROS, and wrote this, because it was bugging me that we never got to see Lando's speech. Later I found out you *can* see it if you ride Star Tours. :)


End file.
